Viz has a bumper crop of summer reading for us from their Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat lines, but the other publishers only have a handful of new releases.

So let's roll with Viz. My pick of the week is vol. 1 of Jiu Jiu, the shoujo-est shoujo manga to come down the pike in a long time. It's moody and funny and has a couple of hot guys who turn into super-cute wolves.

Kodansha USA has just one new release this week: Vol. 5 of Animal Land, the tale of humans and tanuki on a remote island. The description for this volume includes the tantalizing phrase "a meeting with a pack of hyenas will teach him a lesson about finding one's own place in the world," which promises plenty of action and zaniness—not surprising, as this series is by Zatch Bell creator Makoto Raiku.